Disclaimer: I don't own GW

Author's Notes: First attempt at romance. Probably sucks. Hilde finds comfort with Heero after Duo's death. Good thing I don't allow my personaly feelings toward the pilots affect my more serious writing, or it would have messed up a romance even more. Please review.

Comfort

Heero wandered around the streets of the L2 colony that Duo use to live in. He had died a few days ago. Duo had asked Hilde to marry him the day before the accident happened.

He was transporting some titanium alloy for the construction of a new colony. Their were some engine troubles with the ship he had taken off. He had joked about how unreliable the ships were compaired to the gundam a few days before the trip. Little did he know how right he really was. He had been wearing his space suit luckily. The shuttle had exploded. He was the only one that had survived, but he was dying. All the gundam pilots and other friends had gathered before he had died.

'He made me promise to take care of Hilde,' the emotionless pilot of 01 thought. Rain ran down his face from the weather generators. Outside, Heero seemed calm and emotionless, but inside he was being torn apart by his best friend's death.

---Flashback---

All of Duo's friends had gather around while he was still alive. All of them were crying or at least shed a few tears. Even Wufei had. He had gotten a bit attached to 02 during the wars. All of them went in one by one.

Heero went in his best friend's hospital room. He looked so pale and frail

"Hey buddy," Duo said weakly.

"Hi," Heero said. "How've you been?"

"Heero, you know I'm dying," Duo said. "No need to pretend other wise. I didn't really expect you to do it though."
Heero offered a small smile.

"If I weren't dying already, I probably would have died from seeing you smile buddy," Duo joked.

"Always the joker," Heero said, with a bit of his emotion in his voice. Duo was just about the only one he had lightened up around.

"I wanna ask you a favor buddy," Duo said.

"Yeah?"

"Please look after Hilde." The Perfect Soldier's best friends coughed. "I don't want to risk her doing something drastic out of sadness. I'd like all of you happy. Well for you I'd like you at least remotely happy. Now will you send in Hilde?"

"Sure thing Duo," Heero said.

He left and Hilde soon entered, crying.

"Duo," she sobbed.

"Don't worry Hilde," Duo said, smiling. "I was lucky to live this long and have known you. Now please stop crying."

"Duo..."

"Hilde, you know I love you. And I'd like for you to be happy. And let Heero in the house. If you can't take care of something, you can ask him. And we're probably going to finally get one decent tax report in."

Hilde's face brightened a bit at the joke. "Duo, I love you too,"

"Yeah, that's why you accepted my marriage proposal. Too bad we can't get married now. I'll see you again in the future babe." Duo said that smiling. His voice weakened and started fading. "I want you to be..." His last reserves of strength faded with a long beep sound before he could finish.

Hilde was sobbing again as the doctors rushed in, trying desperately to revive the fallen gundam pilot. They gave up after ten minutes and walked out to tell the bad news.

---End Flashback---

Heero reached Duo's old house. He had been woken up many times in the last few days by Hilde waking up screaming and crying for Duo. It hurt him to see his best friend's former fiance in such grief. He avoided close contact with her. He didn't know how Hilde would react. She might think that he was taking advantage of her current state. He didn't need to hurt her anymore.

As he entered the house, he smelled the coppery scent of blood. His eyes widened and he rushed to the kitchen. He turned on the lights and saw Hilde soaking in a puddle of her own blood, which was coming from her wrist.

'Shit! I knew I should have hidden the knives!' Heero scolded himself as he got an abulance to come. He quickly acted on his own as well to bandage up the wrist. Luckily, he had slight medical training during his training. The sirens of an ambulance quickly came minutes after Heero's call.

Pilot 01 watched helplessly as the doctor's put Hilde on the stretcher and drive her to the hospital. He was allowed in the ambulance and looked at her helpless form.

'Duo, I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise,' Heero thought to himself.

When they reached the hospital, Heero waited in the waiting room as Hilde was quickly wheeled to the emergency room.

------

Heero had been pacing around the room for hours already. He had called all of his friends, who made their second journey to the colony in the week.

"Heero, it's not your fault," Relena comforted. She had given up on the prussian blue eyed pilot years ago.

"Yes. Do not wear a hole in the ground Yuy," Wufei said.

"It's all of our faults that we didn't stay and look after her," 04 said.

"Yes," Trowa agreed.

The others just remained silent for the news of Hilde.

A doctor came in 30 minutes later.

"What's the news doctor?" Heero asked.

"Well, she's stable." Everyone let out a relieved sigh. They didn't want to lose a second friend within the same week. "But she's in a coma."

"What, a coma...?" Heero trailed off.

------

A year had passed since Hilde had fallen into a coma.

Heero had gotten over Duo's death.

It still hurt whenever he thought about it, but he was still over it. He was more concerned about Hilde now. The determination that came from his mission came back when Duo had told him to take care of Hilde.

Heero had visited Hilde whenever he could. He had gotten a job to replace Duo in the Sweepers group.

Heero stood at Hilde's bed side. He looked directly down at her face.

Suddenly, her eyes started twitching and they opened.

When she saw that she was alive, she suddenly bolted out of bed and saw Heero.

"You! I should have died and joined Duo! Why didn't you let me die!?" Hilde sobbed she started to pound on Heero.

"Because I couldn't," Heero said and ignored the pain, as he was trained to do many years ago.

"You couldn't!? ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS LET ME DIE! I WOULD HAVE JOINED DUO AND BEEN HAPPY!" Hilde continued to sob and continued pounding on Heero. She had started to draw a bit of blood. Heero chose to continue ignoring the pain.

Heero decided 'the hell with her thinking he was taking advantage'. He pulled Hilde in for a hug.

"I couldn't because I care for you. Duo wouldn't have wanted you to kill yourself over him. He told me he wanted us all to be happy."

"I'D BE HAPPY DYING WITH HIM!" Hilde screamed. By now a doctor had rushed into the room. She saw Heero trying to comfort Hilde from doing any more harm to herself and wisely chose to leave the room, knowing it was not good for her personal health to try to stop the former pilot.

"He wouldn't be happy you died for him. And I can't let you die because I, as well as many other people, care for you too."

"Yeah right. Nobody cared about me before Duo. Not even my own allies in the OZ space force."

"That was before. Now is after. Many people care for you!"

"Name some then!"

"Relena does! So does Trowa, Quatre, Catherine, and even Wufei! And last of all, I care about you."

"You? You care for me? Really?"

Heero nodded his head. He looked straight into Hilde's eyes. "Really."

When Hilde looked into Heero's eyes, he didn't see the normal glare that she saw, or even the haunted look of losing his best friend. It was one of pure honesty. "Heero..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for making you worry. And I'm sorry for hitting you." She hugged him back.

Heero motioned to the doctor that she could come in.

------

A few months had passed. Hilde didn't wake up screaming very often now and Heero was glad. The two had become close in the last few months. Heero asked Hilde to meet him on a hill a little distance from their home.

When Hilde arrived, a few tears filled her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked.

"This... This is the place where Duo proposed to me," she said. Hilde didn't start with the full blown tears that she use to.

"Oh..." was all that Heero said.

"Sorry," I'm still a bit emotional when it comes to Duo.

"Same here," Heero said softly.

"Well what did you want to talk about?" the dark haired girl asked.

"Well... you know we've gotten close over the last few months. And I know I can't replace Duo, but..."

"But?"

"Willyoumarryme?" Heero blurted. He had never been so nervous in his life.

"What?"

"Sorry. I really shouldn't." The blue eyed pilot started walking off.

"No, tell me," Hilde said and gave him the big puppy eyes that even a perfect soldier couldn't resist.

"Alright. Will you marry me?"

Hilde was shocked. She had grown close to Heero too. The death of her husband-to-be and his best friend had brought them close.

Heero took the silence as something else. "I understand. I knew I shouldn't have done this!" Heero quickly started to walk away.

"Wait!" Hilde called. "I will."

Heero blinked a few times and smiled.

"I will," Hilde repeated and kissed the man she now loved.

Up in the heavens, Duo smiled down on his love and his best friend.

The End

Ending Notes: Yeah, I know. It sucked. I'm not the romance type. This will probably be my only romance fic. Well, please review and tell me what I would need to improve it. Besides that fact that the couple's names both started with H and there were a load of H's in the story. Ja!